Why are people against Predator cue`s & Low Deflections shaft?

Not sure if I know anyone who is "against" them, but I know a few people who, like myself, believe they are not for everyone. There seems to be a "deflection is an evil that must be eradicated" mindset among many, but deflection can have a wonderful correcting effect for certain players and certain shots. Some of us have to make fewer compensations when we switch to LD (and IMO those people should strongly consider switching to LD), but some of us have to make more compensations when we switch to LD. I fall into the latter group, but I am currently using a Predator because I didn't want to pass judgment without giving LD a fair trial. I am using one for a year before I decide if it is right for me, and I would encourage others to experiment as well. My personal take is that we are always going to be making compensations and corrections for different effects, but if the Predator performs more consistently for me than a traditional shaft, I will take the hit with regard to increased aiming compensations.

Aaron
 
admittedly i don't get on here much anymore but i don't recall people being against them. just not liking them. i fall into that category. i don't think there is anything wrong with them i just don't like the feel. i however, also see nothing wrong with using jump cues when the event being played allows them. they are just new things to bring with your game.
i will say this though, they are not a magic bullett. nor is the chalk you use or the felt, or the table, or the aiming system. if you can play you can play. i have watched guys crush a s*itty table using a house cue and silver cup chalk. when a guy can run a few racks of 8 and 9 ball and then go 7 or 8 out in one pocket or put up a run of 100 in 14.1 on less than good equipment he can play, no matter what. if you give him the stuff he prefers his percentages may go up a little but not much.
that ld shaft will only correct so much. if you can't stroke and put balls in the pocket, a predator or ob or any aother ld won't do it for you. the only thing an ld can do is take some of the squirt out of the equation.
 
I don't know about the purist thing, but they do feel different from each other and that seems like a decent reason to choose one over the other.
 
sr 9ball said:
Most people don't want to go through a new learning curve.
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Bingo! If you are one that uses a lot of spin on shots at different speeds (playing 1-pocket for example), switching to LD shafts is difficult. But if I were to start over and decided to play seriously, I would give LD shafts a fair shot. I think in the long run they would help, especially in rotation games.
 
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I'm not against them, just a matter of what I'm used to. If you get used to a low deflection shaft and then grab a cue off the wall to gamble with someone will the house cue have a low deflection shaft?
 
Been there done that.

Pushout said:
I'm using cue-maker designed low-deflection shafts for the first time and liking them. They seem to do what the ones I've tried did not do and that's why I haven't played with commercial LD shafts. I've gone on record before as hating predator shafts and still feel that way even after playing with a friend's 314-2 back in March. The 314-2 was much better than the original 314 but not enough to make me spend the money on them. I tried a 314 years ago for about 3 months on an almost daily basis and every time I hit the cue ball it felt like the shaft was going to shatter.
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This old guy tried to step into the LD craze with a ob1 and 18 months later gave up. I think that was a good effort. Went back to my wood shaft on my Shurtz and am good to go. My new custom has a 7 in. Graphite insert on the ferrule end of a regular wood shaft. Plays somewhat like an LD but no transition period. So I feel like I am trying to be technologically aware!?!? I see so many people who are just not skilled, lower echelon players who feel they MUST have a Pred like all their buddies. They couldn't play with or without a Pred. People want the latest and greatest of everything. What is important is Pred and Diamond are good for pool and that's the bottom line. More important is to hit lots of balls and support your local pool hall. Buy cues and shafts, take lessons and play in tourneys. That will help pool and your game. Buying a Pred shaft and thinking ok, now I'm ready isn't enough. No magic to make a great player, just hard work!
 
Masayoshi said:
Its mostly just the nostalgic crowd who would like pool to remain how it was in the 80's that are against low deflection shafts.
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But (but but,...) there WERE LD shafts in the 50s, 60s, 70s--the ones with the 10mm and 11mm tips (and agressive tapers) could be termed LD shafts.

LD is about lack of mass at the tip end of things. Really small tips have less mas, the shaft holding the tip has less mass, and this lack of mass carries through back at leasat 1/2 way on the shaft.

Many of these were called 'juiced' instead of LD, but the LDness of them remains.
 
I tried a 314-2 for about 3 weeks and ended up going back to a "conventional" shaft. I have nothing against them, they're just not for everybody. As for all the pros using them, I'd use one too if I was being paid by the manufacturer as well as receiving an infinite supply of them custom made to my specs. I'm sure the pros can play just as well without them.
 
Masayoshi said:
Its mostly just the nostalgic crowd who would like pool to remain how it was in the 80's that are against low deflection shafts. Most of us realize that even pool has to evolve in one way or another.
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I've heard this before and don't understand the reasoning behind it. Low deflection shafts are NOT for everybody. Nostalgia has nothing to do with it. I was playing long before the '80s and so were a lot of other people here.
 
Yes this is the major complaint against LD shafts...

King T said:
I dont like them, because i think you dont feel the shot as much with the LD shafts, but they work for the people they work for..., and any product that puts money in our game is a good product!
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Many people report that they have a hollow feel to them and don't give feedback. I have developed an LD shaft that doesn't compromise that feel. I'm not going to say how I did it, but it has a good feel to it...

What's funny is that the people who tend to like the predator or are at least used to the feel of a predator tend to say they don't like the feel of my shaft.

I think they've just gotten used to the hollow feel...

Jaden
 
MitchAlsup said:
But (but but,...) there WERE LD shafts in the 50s, 60s, 70s--the ones with the 10mm and 11mm tips (and agressive tapers) could be termed LD shafts.

LD is about lack of mass at the tip end of things. Really small tips have less mas, the shaft holding the tip has less mass, and this lack of mass carries through back at leasat 1/2 way on the shaft.

Many of these were called 'juiced' instead of LD, but the LDness of them remains.
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Actually, there were even laminated shafts in the seventies. Just not called LD. The term is new, the construction is not.

Don't know if they go back as far as the sixties....somebody else might know.....
 
I like predators and played with one for a long time, but I realized that there are factors other than deflection to consider when choosing a shaft.
I personally think that predator does a great job with their LD, but If you take the time to try some shafts by the many great cuemakers around, you'd be surprised. You may even luck out and find a shaft that is naturally LD.
 
LD is all about end mass...

victorl said:
I like predators and played with one for a long time, but I realized that there are factors other than deflection to consider when choosing a shaft.
I personally think that predator does a great job with their LD, but If you take the time to try some shafts by the many great cuemakers around, you'd be surprised. You may even luck out and find a shaft that is naturally LD.
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Because of the marketing hype of predator, many people seem to be confused on the whole laminated shaft versus LD....

The laminated aspect of predator shafts does nothing but to minimize the lack of consistency inherent in relatively low grade woods. Higher grade woods tend to be similar in consistency to predators laminated woods.

It's the reduced end mass that gives any ld shaft it's lower squirt characteristics.

More custom cue makers are making LD shafts an option due to people being used to aiming with ld shafts or for asking for replacement shafts for their custom cues from cue makers. Some have even addressed the issue of the hollow feel of the commercially available LD shafts that people have complained of.

I am one of those.

I am planning on sending a couple of my shafts to some of the trusted members on this site for trial and feedback in the near future and I will have them give their review on the site.



Jaden
 
I am noticing a theme here that isn't exactly correct...not all LD shafts are created equal, and more importantly, not all LD shafts are laminated. Most are addressing the laminated LD shafts.

I have an LD shaft that is not laminated, and I love it to death! But no, not a big laminated LD shaft or Predator fan. I agree with many in that they just feel dead to me...little to no feedback whatsoever.

Lisa
 
Winston846 said:
I tried a 314-2 for about 3 weeks and ended up going back to a "conventional" shaft. I have nothing against them, they're just not for everybody. As for all the pros using them, I'd use one too if I was being paid by the manufacturer as well as receiving an infinite supply of them custom made to my specs. I'm sure the pros can play just as well without them.
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Pros who have won multiple titles with Predator haven't all been payed by Predator.Even if they did the point is,is that they are winning with it.Not saying there for everybody but you can't deny performance and results,Predator has proven both!
 
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